Hey everyone! I am going to be putting in a lot of work into site design on Snapshots of Wellness until after Easter. This means you won't be hearing much from me although, feel free to follow along on Twitter at @snapshotsofw or Instagram at @snapshotsofwellness

So I wanted to wish those of you that celebrate..... an 'early' Happy Easter! I hope our weather warms up (I think it's gonna).

For me, Easter is about the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. And I am really eager to join hands with my Christian community (and anyone else who would like to join us) to celebrate Him and His glory. When the site is fully developed, I will have a tab above sharing a lot more about my faith in Christ. I am excited about sharing all of our testimonies and learning from one another how to become more like Him. And share more with all of you about how my faith is my cornerstone & foundation of wellness. So, look for that tab by late Spring.

With that being said, I am really going to be focusing on sustainable Easter practices in respect to the meal itself this year and what 'traditions' I participate in. Personally, I think the worldly version of Easter is pretty gross: Eating a lot of sugar - placing live baby chicks in the hands of kids & their Easter baskets only for the chicks to die early - eating processed meals - etc. There are so many sustainable - healthy - 'kind' - joy filled ways to participate in the festivities so, let me share just a few if you are interested:

Meal Prep:

If you are a guest & bringing a dish to a family member or friend's place, why not consider a large hearty Spring garden salad filled with organic crunchy veggies, nuts, seeds & fruits? Everyone would love this!

Rather than 'deviled eggs', why not fill avocados with your favorite 'stuffing' such as sauerkraut with a drizzle of Dijon mustard (trust me, it's delish).

Roasted Butternut Squash is a seriously tasty side dish to basically every main entree on Easter. Sprinkle with cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg (my boyfriend got me started on this dish and it's insanely good). It tastes like pie filling - really.

Side dishes are so simple and easy to throw together too. One idea is a large bowl of a variety of roasted veggies (asparagus, red & yellow bell peppers, beets, etc.). Sprinkle with sea salt and there you go! Salivating thinking about it.

I hope these tips stir your own mind to come up with some more of your own ideas. It can be serious FUN to eat healthy, sustainably, local and have your kids doing all sorts of creative holiday projects that are eco-friendly! Really! I think when I am a mom, my kids will be these garden loving-eco-crafty mavens - haha.

If you have any of your own ideas, please share them with me across social media (links above). I know this is a really brief blog tonight but, let me share that I am extremely exhausted and detoxing. Yep, I am presently doing a really intense overall body detox which I can share more about once I am through it. And the result is extreme lethargy and my creative 'spark' is dim (0:. I wanted to provide all of you with a little somethin' though for Easter so, I hope this helped a bit.

Enjoy the holiday next weekend (and this weekend ahead)! And thank you again for your patience while the site takes shape!!!!

Good morning to all of you. I am just beside myself that it's snowing. I seriously cannot compute this is happening. haha. What is going on?! Old Man Winter will not stay asleep!

Well, join me in my attempt to stay with 'Spring' despite the falling snow. This snowy junket will be short lived for sure!

So, if you have been tuning into Snapshots of Wellness as of late, you know that I attended the #Behealthful Retreat which was seriously fabulous! I learned so much about health-wellness-self-care and I cannot wait to share every last bit with all of you so you will benefit too. I will do that in another post though.

I bring up the retreat because one of the Guest Speakers, Ashlee Piper of The Lil Foxes who is toted in Chicago as one of the 'best of the best' in Eco-sustainable wellness, spoke about the importance of using chemical, additive and cruelty free products on our bodies. And I cannot champion that sentiment enough.

We matter. You matter. And what you put on your skin really matters. You are ingesting toxins when you are using chemically laden products and each day you get to make a choice to honor your body or riddle it with disease. You are in control of what you choose to put on and in your body and that's a level of intimacy that you need to really take seriously. I spoke in detail on this topic when I shared Soapwalla's Restorative Facial Serum with all of you here.

So, we tackled skincare on the site but, what about soap? Soap seems to be a product that I don't hear many people chatting about these days in the wellness world. Why is that? I am thinking because it's simply 'not of mind' compared to skincare, haircare, nail care, food, etc. Our choice of soap may not be something many of you think about...but you should. And friends, soap IS skincare!

Mamma Oceania's handmade soaps feel so incredibly creamy in your hands and on your body. I was trying to think of the texture 'feel' against my skin and 'creamy' defines it. So amazing!!! The quality is so high in respect to 'real natural food based ingredients' that the soap just melts into your skin. I cannot wait for you to try a bar or two!!! I almost wanted to bite into it but then I gathered myself (0:Mamma Oceania's handmade soaps are made with love, so much thought & care for us! They are hand crafted in Toronto, Ontario by the talented and Eco-conscious Anna Mattiuzzo! Anna started making the organic soaps simply as a fun DIY to share with family & friends as gifts. It seems as though from childhood, she was on a quest to be involved in environmentally friendly endeavors. The response from friends & family were so positive that Anna decided to birth Mamma Oceania Handmade Soaps for all of us!

Finally, I am asking Snapshots of Wellness readers to really support these sustainable businesses! We have an opportunity to help market products like Mamma Oceania's Handmade Soaps which in turn, puts more Eco-friendly -sustainable - organic goodness into our planet and of course, our bodies. Every time we purchase a product, we are helping our planet or contributing to it's demise. So, please join me in helping the environment and our health!

I pore over articles about superfoods, nutrients and vitamins to see which ones I would actually recommend to patients. I try and discern which ones are backed by science to determine the ones that are worth spending the time and money to eat.

I came up with my four favorites, which I have listed below. The superfoods I include in this list are all ones that are relatively inexpensive, making them easier to consume regularly (at least three times per week). You should eat these as part of a balanced whole food, plant-based diet. They are easy to sprinkle on greens, add to smoothies or to take in supplement form. 1. Turmeric/Curcumin The active ingredient in curcumin (or turmeric) is well studied as an anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer agent. It's a promising treatment for Alzheimer's as well. As we know, a huge portion of the immune system lies in the gut. Using curry powder or raw turmeric can boost it. How To Eat: Add a 1/2 spoonful in hot water was a tea or added to your green (vegetable) juice. 2. Garlic Garlic can lower blood pressure and treat colds. It can also reduce the risk of various cancers. Garlic was re-popularized by Tim Ferriss who says it helped him "inhibit fat regain". How To Eat: Raw is best, but if you can't fathom eating it raw, extracts are available. 3. Ground flax seeds Flaxseeds can help with blood sugar control and potentially inhibit certain cancers, such as prostate and breast. Additionally, they offer a good dose of soluble fiber. How To Eat: Add 2-3 tablespoons to your daily smoothie or over a salad. 4. Chia seeds One tablespoon of chia offers more calcium than a glass of milk. It's also full of antioxidants! Rich in fiber, they are also great for weight loss. How To Eat: My favorite way to eat them is soak them so they get a gel like consistency. Add two tablespoons soaked for 15 minutes to smoothies or you can drink it with water, stevia and lemon. 5. SpirulinaSpirulina is a great for immune support, protein, and as source of vegan omega-3s. The taste is a bit strong for lots of people, but the benefits, especially for plant-based eaters, are well worth it. Green Chocolate Smoothie Here's a quick and easy green "chocolate" smoothie that incorporates both chia and flax seeds. Serves 2 Ingredients

2 cups cold almond milk

2 handfuls spinach

1 kale leaf, medium

1 cup fresh or frozen berries

2 tablespoons chia seeds (pre soaked)

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Preparation Blend all ingredients in a high power blender until smooth. Photo Credit: Stocksy

Hey SW Readers! I owe all of you a gigantic apology for my lack of presence here on the site! I am really sorry. I have been writing (as you all know off the blog), healing & well, you all know when life get's hectic. Sometimes you have to reel it back in, create a better balance and start over. And that's what I am doing.

Moving forward, there will be a blog post to greet you every Monday morning! I will post late Sunday evening so, when you rise Monday, come on over for some content. If you want to chat about anything specific, just contact me via social media at the links to your above right. We are going to be starting to get a bit more advanced via clinical content at many of your request(s).

On another note.....Are you ready for the weekend? I know I am! I am attending the BeHealthful Retreat which you can read about in the post below. I am looking forward to connecting w/ all of the experts in the wellness community of Chicago, seeing friends, practicing ballet (yep, they are having a ballet class this year) and getting pampered. If you are not able to attend, I will bringing all of what I learn to Snapshots of Wellness next week.

Today....let's chat very briefly about greens. I am sharing a link to a video that I just found so insightful and hope you do too. It's a debate between three physicians who are sharing their stance regarding Paleo & the Vegan diet. And if you look for the commonalities, organic variations of greens & veggies are what everyone seems to be able to agree upon! So, incorporate as much GREEN into your diet as you can - simple enough? The alkalizing impact of greens on your immune system and overall body from even a cellular level is powerful. The more I learn about nutrition......the more that I want to learn. It's an endless education. I know some of you have written me that you are overwhelmed w/ all of the diets, clinical debates via what to eat and what not to. And I want to help simplify for you and it doesn't get any more simple then 'eat more organic greens'. Whatever you pile onto your plate, add a heaping handful of spinach, kale, collards...whatever organic greens you can get your hands on!!! Add a high quality olive oil, sea salt and squeeze of lemon and you have yourself a tasty salad.

I wanted to provide all of you with the link above (just click on the paragraph or photograph) to the upcoming BeHealthful Retreat on March 22nd here in Chicago! I am personally so excited to provide a broadcast of the event for you here at SW, photography blitz via Instagram and a LIVE Twitter chat for my readers - time to be determined.

This is the second year in a row that our friend & associate Sarah Baker is producing and hosting this event! Sarah continues to out-due herself by raising the bar on overall health & wellness in the city of Chicago. It's an incredibly fabulous opportunity to spend a day with people across our city focused on health, healing & wellness for the mind, body and spirit.

Please come say hello as I will be capturing the event on camera and answering follow-up questions from my readers about anything you'd like to know via products, speaker content, etc.

Be well!

Author:

Created and curated by Kelly, Snapshots of Wellness encourages all of you to cultivate your 'joie de vivre': Compassion for Animals via food, style & lifestyle.